Publications

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November 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments

By: Francesca Gino and Lakshmi Ramarajan

In 2018, Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, the largest minority-owned investment firm in the United States, was considering how best to divide her time and use her position and personal characteristics to push for positive change at her firm and in... View Details

Keywords: Female Protagonist; African-American Protagonist; Investment Management; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Work-Life Balance; Financial Services Industry; Chicago

June 2008
Teaching Note

Threadless: The Business of Community (TN)

By: Karim R. Lakhani

Teaching Note for 608707 View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Civil Society or Community; Competition; Blogs; Business Model; Decisions; Design; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Chicago

April 1984 (Revised October 1984)
Teaching Note

Chicago-Midway (A) and (B), Teaching Note

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Chicago

17 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Rating Fund Managers by the Company They Keep

Many tools for rating the performance of mutual funds and their managers rely heavily on past performance. But what about the future? Now comes a system devised by Randolph B. Cohen and Joshua D. Coval of Harvard Business School, and Lubos Pastor of the University of... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

July 2002
Teaching Note

MAC Development Corporation (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Teaching Note for (2-802-140), (9-806-703), and (9-806-706). View Details

Keywords: Construction Industry; Chicago

February 2001 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Marshall Field and the Rise of the Department Store

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Analyzes Marshall Field's efforts to develop a market for mass retailing in late 19th-century Chicago. Examines Chicago's expansion in the 1860s and, within this context, how Field struck out on his own to, build a wholesale and retail business. Concentrates on the... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Industry Growth; Corporate Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Society; Distribution Industry; Retail Industry; Chicago

January 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Learning Resources: Driven by Purpose

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Mehta and Heather Poco

In January 2023, CEO Rick Woldenberg must make several strategic decisions for his family-owned toy company Learning Resources. View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Management; Ownership; Family Ownership; Leadership; Decisions; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Chicago; Illinois

October 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Supplement

Bally Total Fitness (B): The Fall, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

By many measures the largest health-club chain in the United States in the early 2000s, Bally Total Fitness sold most of its remaining fitness clubs to 24 Hour Fitness in 2014 and disappeared from the industry top 100 rankings. After Bally was bedeviled by accounting... View Details

October 2023
Supplement

Rheaply: Circularity For Every Business Supplement 1

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

Pitch deck explaining the early vision of the company that was presented by the CEO to potential investors. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Social Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Finance; Mission and Purpose; United States; Chicago; Illinois

04 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter

impact on the organizations they lead. Hunting the High-Impact Leader From Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter By Gautam Mukunda In the middle of May 1860, delegates to the Republican National Convention met in Chicago to choose the... View Details

11 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives

You may think that being an energy executive—especially a manager in a leading oil company—might be the easiest job around. Just flip the production switch, and watch gas prices head toward $4 a gallon. But students enrolled in Harvard Business School professor Forest... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

11 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

E-Commerce Unplugged

after she finishes work. His cell phone beeps: It's a message from the Soda X portal. The Chicago Fire soccer team is playing tonight, and the Guess? store that Tommy is approaching is offering him half-price tickets for the game if he... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria & Marty Leestma

13 Jul 2022
Book

Reimagining the Economy: What Would It Take to Put People First?

permission from Democratize Work: The Case for Reorganizing the Economy by Isabelle Ferreras, Julie Battilana, and Dominique Méda and translated by Miranda Richmond Mouillot, published by the University of Chicago Press. © 2022 by the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

24 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 24

Publication:In Innovation Policy and the Economy. Vol. 11, edited by Josh Lerner and Scott Stern. NBER Book Series. University of Chicago Press, forthcoming Abstract In this paper we explore the innovations in governance that have... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

KFA, Inc.: Building the Future

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth M. Adams

In 2021, Greg Bush, Jr., owner, president, and CEO of KFA, Inc. is working with his leadership team to plan for the future. KFA provides consulting services on software and project management needs for infrastructure projects. Bush and his team have just debuted a new... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Communication Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Consulting Industry; Information Technology Industry; Chicago; United States

2023
Working Paper

The Real Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Work Schedules: Evidence from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

Effective in eight jurisdictions and banned in four, Fair Workweek Laws (FWL) aim to increase the predictability and stability of work schedules. Among other requirements, these laws penalize employers for unilaterally adjusting work schedules without providing some... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Employees; Outcome or Result; Los Angeles; Chicago; Philadelphia